Narrator: In this episode of "American Greed,"
the shadowy world of film financing,
where fortunes can be stolen.
Wolf: We are just dying to make this movie,
and we put so much into it,
and now somebody's stolen it away from us.
Narrator: And good names dragged through the mud.
Browne: Their reputations, and in some cases, their careers
were destroyed by this fraud.
Narrator: Jason Van Eman and Ben McConley
are up-and-coming players
in Hollywood's independent-film scene,
producing and financing movies through WeatherVane Productions.
Van Eman is a former B-list actor who finds the deals...
Browne: He was the salesman.
He was charismatic. He was smooth.
Narrator: ...and McConley uses social media
to show off his life as a wealth manager,
married to an Instagram model,
and he uses his family's money to fund them.
He was all over social media, flashy lifestyle,
drove Ferraris and Bentleys.
Ben McConley was all about his image.
Narrator: In a few short years,
the partners build a list of credits
for financing films starring A-list celebrities,
but the feds tell "American Greed"
that these so-called financiers
use other people's millions to fund some films
and steal the rest.
Papadopoulos: Every day you had a cancerous knot just wondering
if this project is ever gonna be realized.
Narrator: But what these bad actors haven't counted on
is getting caught up in a timeless Hollywood storyline --
the revenge plot.
Pierce: You messed with the wrong guys.
I'm gonna make it my life mission to put you in jail.
Martino: You know that the whole house of cards
has now collapsed on itself,
and that's when I got the bright idea
how to go after these guys.
**
Narrator: In the spring of 2015, production is moving along
on the independent feature film "Inside Game,"
the story of an infamous NBA betting scandal
and the passion project
of venture capitalist turned filmmaker Paul Martino.
We've scouted locations.
We have our -- We have a director.
You know, we're ready to go.
Narrator: Martino has put up $1.25 million of his own
and believes those funds have been matched by Jason Van Eman
and Ben McConley of WeatherVane Productions.
We thought we had found a perfect partner
to go fill in the other half of the financing to make the movie.
Narrator: But before the cameras can roll,
there is trouble.
Martino: The line producer calls me up.
He says, "Paul, why is there no money
in the production account?"
Narrator: It's not just a mystery.
It's a crime that will take three years to solve,
leaving the cast, the crew,
and Martino's $1.25 million in the lurch.
Wolf: They had found this sweet spot
where they wanted to make the movie and then,
as they were closing in on getting production started,
that money was gone.
**
Narrator: This is a Hollywood crime story that starts
about as far from the movie biz as one can imagine --
in the midwestern town of Bartlesville, Oklahoma,
where a young man named Jason Van Eman
grows up in a solid, middle-class family
and appears to have a promising future,
according to his attorney, Neil Karadbil.
Karadbil: He was a good student. He was a good athlete.
He, early on had an ambition to be a fighter pilot,
and he actually got into the Air Force Academy,
which is no small accomplishment.
Narrator: But after a year at the Air Force Academy,
Van Eman decides it's not for him.
There is another dream calling.
The kid really wants to be in pictures.
Like so many aspiring young actors before him,
he heads to Hollywood.
Karadbil: He actually achieved some success as an actor
by getting a number of roles.
And, in fact, had two starring roles
in some smaller-budget films.
Billy, Billy, Billy.
Narrator: In 2005, Van Eman lands a leading role
in a low-budget feature called "Regarding Billy."
The coming-out story of an Air Force pilot,
coincidentally, and his best friend.
Would you relax, Billy? Get over here.
Let's catch up.
But Van Eman is still waiting on his big break
and struggles to make a living as an actor.
By 2006, he leaves Los Angeles to get married
and start a family in Oklahoma,
but one foot remains firmly in Hollywood.
He wanted to transition from acting
into actually making movies.
Narrator: Van Eman starts a company
called WeatherVane Productions.
And works his L.A. contacts from Bartlesville,
trying to make movie deals.
Around 2011, Van Eman meets 29-year-old Miami investor
Ben McConley through a mutual business associate --
a Hollywood producer who has worked with Van Eman
on film production
and with McConley on film investing.
Ben McConley owns Forrest Capital Partners
and claims to control an inherited portfolio
of massive wealth
run through his so-called "family office."
Karadbil: He had the fancy clothes.
He had the fine jewelry.
He had all the Ferraris and Maseratis you would want to see.
He was flying on private jets, trips to Las Vegas.
He appeared to be someone
who could finance film and other projects.
Narrator: The high-flying Florida financier
and the Oklahoma producer
decide to partner up with a business plan and a dream --
to become well-known players in the indie-film world.
Browne: Mr. Van Eman spoke the language of Hollywood,
and he could assure the investors and the producers,
who were, you know, looking for money,
that he was going to be able to match or finance
about 50% of the budget.
He told them that his financial partner, Ben McConley,
was going to be the one who actually put the assets
into the deal.
Narrator: The partnership produces
a series of low-budget, straight-to-streaming,
Christian, faith-based projects
with titles including, "The Sparrows"
and "Fishes 'n Loaves: Heaven Sent."
These get little traction but serve an important purpose --
to build Van Eman's reputation as a producer,
as well as building producing credits.
Browne: The more projects, the more movies they made,
the more reputable directors, producers,
and actors that they had on board,
the more legitimacy they had.
In a real way, their credibility was their IMDb pages.
Narrator: What no one yet knows, however,
is that WeatherVane Productions' business model
is riddled with lies.
Browne: Jason Van Eman's background as an actor,
and, you know, to a lesser extent,
as a movie-business veteran,
really made him ideally suited to become a fraudster.
He was good at pretending,
and that's ultimately what the success of the scheme
depended on was him pretending that he and his partner
had the money to finance these movies.
Narrator: The only assets
these so-called financiers really have
is money brought in from unsuspecting creative partners
and investors.
Browne: The way it worked was,
the money first hit Ben McConley's account.
And then Ben McConley would decide arbitrarily
and kind of on his own how much he was gonna pay himself
and move into his other accounts
and then how much he was gonna send to Jason Van Eman,
and it was Van Eman's responsibility then
to decide which movies got paid
and which ones were left hanging.
Narrator: For eight years, Van Eman and McConley
are able to keep their scheme going,
while WeatherVane Productions
parlays its ever-growing reputation into more deals.
And they are meeting with producers
from all over the world
who are searching for funding deals for their indie films.
**
Sol Papadopoulos is a UK-based producer
working on his latest indie film --
"A Quiet Passion" --
a biopic about the life of poet Emily Dickinson
and the passion project of writer and director,
Terence Davies, seen by many critics
as one of the greatest British filmmakers of his time.
He reads Emily Dickinson every month,
and he says it's almost like his religion.
Narrator: Davies has written the script about Dickinson's life
and "Sex and the City" star Cynthia Nixon
has signed on to play the lead.
So he said he wrote it sort of with me in mind a bit,
and then he sent me the completed script
and I signed on immediately.
Narrator: Now it's up to producer Sol Papadopoulos
to finance the film.
He travels to the American film market in L.A.
and takes a meeting with Jason Van Eman
of WeatherVane Productions.
Papadopoulos: He was a handsome chap who talked the talk.
He came across as really caring about the project.
And he just laid on the charm.
Narrator: Van Eman's financing structure
is unlike any the filmmaker has encountered before,
and he is intrigued.
Papadopoulos: The structure was,
you put a dollar into their account,
in 90 days, you get $2 back as the investment of 50-50
with your money and theirs into the film production.
No one was doing that structure.
I mean, it was just unbelievable.
Narrator: In other words,
WeatherVane is getting 50% ownership
of the future profits
and only makes money if the film makes money.
The producers are skeptical,
but references on other completed films are positive,
and the agreement appears to be legit.
Papadopoulos: That's when you think, "Okay,
well, should we dip our toes in this water?"
remembering, of course, that we got
an independent film production about an American poet.
It's not hugely commercial.
We took those tentative steps
and put $1.8 million into their account.
In hindsight, of course, that was a massive risk.
Narrator: Next on "American Greed,"
more producers think their money is safe
in a protected bank account,
but they couldn't be more wrong.
Martino: It haunts me to this day what he said to me.
"Unless they have somebody inside the bank,
there's no way you can lose your money."
**
Narrator: In late 2014,
UK-based producer Sol Papadopoulos
is working on his latest independent film --
"A Quiet Passion."
90 days after signing a financing agreement
with Jason Van Eman and WeatherVane Productions,
he expects to have access
to a $4 million production account,
but...the account is empty.
Papadopoulos: So, we give them a day,
and then we get on the phone to Jason Van Eman,
and he said, "Well, it's, um, it's on its way.
The banking, you know, there are some compliance issues.
We've got a man on the inside of the bank
who's telling me everything's fine."
Narrator: On day 100, it's definitely not fine.
65 crew members are now building out sets in Belgium
and need to get paid.
The producers are forced to take out a bridge loan
to cover salaries.
Two weeks later,
Van Eman transfers a tiny portion of the funds.
Papadopoulos: We get a drip feed of $10,000.
And then 3 days later, we get another $10,000,
and we're like, "Jason, what's going on?"
He doesn't think there's a problem.
He's getting us the money,
even though it's just drip, drip, drip.
Narrator: When it's a week
before shooting is scheduled to start
with the cast, Papadopoulos has no idea
if he will be able to pay his starring actress, Cynthia Nixon.
No agent in America puts their cast on a plane
without seeing the money in an account.
So, this is the big test.
Then we call Jason Van Eman and say,
"Right, we need several hundred thousand dollars tomorrow
or the film's off."
Narrator: In the nick of time,
Van Eman sends enough for Papadopoulos
to keep the production going,
but the troubles with WeatherVane don't end there.
Papadopoulos: It was possibly
one of the most unpleasant experiences
of my producing life
because every day, you had a cancerous knot,
just wondering if this project is ever gonna be realized.
Narrator: Even though the producer is forced to hound Van Eman
every day for months to get his funding,
Papadopoulos is able to keep the cast and crew
unaware of the financial nightmare
happening behind the scenes,
and they are able to pull off a successful shoot and edit.
Papadopoulos: We got away by the skin of our teeth.
And it was a really frightening realization
that it could have all gone so wrong.
Narrator: In February of 2016,
"A Quiet Passion" premieres at the Berlin Film Festival
to critical acclaim.
Papadopoulos believes the film's high profile
is the only reason the money finally came through.
We could only surmise that it was
because we had a really credible project
that they perhaps were using our project, our feature film,
as a proof of concept to then convince others,
"Look, we're 50% investors in this film.
Why don't you invest in the next one?"
And I can only guess that that's why we got away with it
and so many others lost their money.
Narrator: But those losses are still in the future...
for now.
With another executive-producer credit under his belt,
Jason Van Eman continues to level up.
He travels to Cannes and other European film festivals
and wines and dines in Monte Carlo.
Browne: He was holding himself out as a film financier,
so it was important for him to be seen aboard mega yachts
and, you know, partying with film-industry types
because it helped him portray himself as legitimate.
Narrator: Within a few years,
WeatherVane has a growing list of titles
with A-list stars attached,
including "Jane Got a Gun, starring Natalie Portman,
"Urge" with Pierce Brosnan,
and film festival darling, "The Tale," starring Laura Dern.
Filmmakers from near and far are taking notice.
**
Paul Martino is a self-described Philly kid,
born and bred about 3,000 miles from Hollywood
and a world away.
It started as a total accident getting into the movie business.
My day job -- I run a venture capital firm
and I am an entrepreneur.
Narrator: He's also a family guy who happens to have a cousin
with an unbelievable life story.
Martino: My cousin Tommy Martino was involved
in one of the largest scandals in sports history.
Him and his buddy Tim Donaghy
were involved in rigging a bunch of NBA games
when Tim was a referee.
Narrator: Tommy Martino served time
for his part in the scandal,
and when he gets out, his prospects are limited,
except for offers he's fielding from producers
trying to nab his so-called "life rights,"
or ownership of his story.
Martino: And he called me up, he said,
"Paulie, will you read this contract?"
He sends me this contract,
and it was the most awful one-sided contract
I'd ever read in my life.
I said, "Tommy, you can't sign this."
He's like, "Look, I just got out of jail.
I need some money."
And so, I bought his life rights really just as a --
just as a favor to my cousin to get him back on his feet
after he got out of jail.
I never in a million years ever thought
that we would make a film,
let alone be talking about what happened en route
to making a film.
Narrator: Six months later, Martino happens to meet
Hollywood screenwriter Andy Callahan,
also a big basketball fan from Philly.
When Callahan hears the story, he asks to write it
and turns out a screenplay for a film called "Inside Game."
Martino: It is the true story of Tommy Martino,
who's my cousin, Tim Donaghy, who's the referee,
and Jimmy Battista, who's the gambler.
Basically, the three of them hatched a scandal
that was all based on the fact
that Tim knew how certain games were gonna get called.
And it was a pretty amazing story.
In many ways, I called the film,
"Goodfellas for Dummies," because these three
kind of not exactly the sharpest guys around
got in way over their head and managed to piss off the NBA,
the FBI, and the mob all at the same time.
Narrator: Paul Martino contacts Michael Pierce,
a fellow venture capitalist and former movie producer
with a track record of successful films.
So, I read the script. He had hired someone
to write the script, and it was not a bad script.
So, I said, "You know what? As a side pet project,
let me tinker with this for a while."
Narrator: With that, Paul Martino thinks he's found a way
to make his movie-making dreams come true.
Up next, the entrepreneur with a screenplay
comes face-to-face with Hollywood's dark side...
Martino: The line producer calls me up.
He says, "Paul, why is there no money
in the production account?"
Narrator: ...and takes on a mission to expose the con men.
Martino: I said, "Ben, I promise you
this will be an outstanding episode of 'American Greed.'
It will be my life goal to make sure that episode happens."
**
Narrator: In early 2015, serial entrepreneur Paul Martino
makes a career shift --
from venture capital to filmmaking
with the production of his movie, "Inside Game."
This is like any other startup company.
What do I need to go do?
It's like, "Okay, we need a director.
We need to figure out what the budget is."
Martino and his new partner, Michael Pierce,
anticipate needing about $4 million to make the film.
And while Martino is hugely successful,
he doesn't want to take on all the risk.
Martino: I said, "Look, Michael, I'm good for half that.
I have a couple buddies of mine
and we'll put up -- call it about $2 million.
Can you figure out how we do the rest?"
Narrator: Pierce hires a line producer
and tasks him with finding a way
to finance the other half of the film,
and the producer comes back with a lead --
WeatherVane Productions.
He says, "I have found a financing arrangement
that is foolproof,
and it requires only half of the capital
and they'll give us the other half."
I said, "Okay, well, that sounds good.
It's a matching deal."
I said, "Who are these guys and what have they done?"
Narrator: The guys are executive producer Jason Van Eman
and wealthy investor Benjamin McConley.
Through WeatherVane Productions,
they have financed several independent films
and are in production on many more.
We did our reference calls on who WeatherVane and Jason
and his business partner, Ben McConley, were.
We found other people who had made films with them.
Narrator: Michael Pierce calls a reference
at one of the largest talent agencies in Hollywood
and likes what he hears.
Pierce: She said, "Well, they seem to have money,
and they have a lending facility
with Wells Fargo Bank out of Miami."
I said, "Really, Wells Fargo?
Wow, that's one of the oldest and most esteemed
lending institutions in America,
so that sounds like it's legit to me, right?"
She says, "Well, we haven't had any issues so far."
Narrator: The agreement is relatively simple --
Martino and Pierce would send their half
to Ben McConley's personal Wells Fargo banker,
Benjamin Rafael, in Florida,
and Rafael will certify and manage the accounts.
Martino: Ben was presented to us
as a very successful multimillionaire
from a very wealthy family.
He is able to collateralize your money
up against his other assets to produce the match.
So, we talked to the banker.
I got on the phone with him in Miami,
and it all checked out.
Narrator: Before sending his $1.25 million
to WeatherVane, as a final precaution,
Martino decides to have the contracts
reviewed one more time by his business partner,
a securities lawyer.
It haunts me to this day what he said to me.
"This contract is weird, but it's ironclad.
Unless they have somebody inside the bank,
there's no way you can lose your money."
Narrator: In May of 2015,
Martino wires the money to McConley's account.
And that summer, pre-production on "Inside Game" gets underway.
All seems to be going smoothly...
until it isn't.
Martino: We're doing preproduction work.
We're scouting locations.
We're interviewing directors.
And then eventually we get to the spot
where the line producer now needs
to have access to the production budget
'cause he needs to start writing checks to go secure locations.
The line producer calls me up.
He says, "Paul, why is there no money
in the production account?"
Narrator: There's supposed to be about $4 million
in their production account,
but the balance is zero.
Michael and I are like, "Look, that money needed to be there."
We're calling Ben. We're calling Jason.
We're calling the bank.
"You know, what's going on here?"
Pierce: And they said, "Oh, it's coming.
We just got a little held up,
and we have, you know, five movies in production.
It'll be here in, you know, two or three weeks."
Three weeks go by and money doesn't get to the account,
and I'm starting to realize this is bad.
This is bad.
Narrator: Paul Martino decides it's time to figure out
just how bad it is...
and hires a private investigator
to look into the man with the money.
Martino: I said, "Listen, I've got somebody I need you
to go check in on in Miami.
Would you please go take a look at Ben McConley?"
He goes, he observes his behavior,
he looks at bank accounts.
Narrator: 48 hours later,
the investigator calls Martino with an update,
and it's all bad news.
Martino: He goes, "Paul, your money's all gone.
This guy stole it all."
And so, I call Michael up.
I go, "Michael, it's exactly what you thought.
And our investigator is 100% certain that the money is gone,
100% certain, no doubt in his mind."
Narrator: What makes the P.I. so sure?
It's all laid out in his damaging dossier --
a document laying bare Ben McConley's outrageous lifestyle,
his financial information, and his alleged criminal record.
And it was everything Michael and I was worried
that this report was gonna say.
Pierce: Our worst fears were realized
'cause I just thought, "Great,
he's got a fleet of exotic cars.
He frequents clubs
and spends $20,000 on bottle service every night.
Geez, I wonder where our money went."
Ben McConley is brazenly spending lavish amounts of money
all around South Florida,
and it is all documented on social media,
with his girlfriend -- and later wife --
an Instagram "model" for whom McConley employs
personal photographers for her weekly photo shoots.
When you pictured a person
that would steal your money in a scandal,
you would picture him living the lifestyle
of Ben McConley in Miami.
The model Instagram girlfriend, the fancy cars, the big house.
The P.I. unearthed that his girlfriend was now pregnant
and that they had this baby shower.
He said, "I think they spent a million dollars
on this baby shower."
So, when you're picturing somebody
who's gonna steal money from you
and spend it like it's not theirs,
you're picturing Ben McConley.
Narrator: With their money gone,
Martino and Pierce make the tough decision
to stop production of "Inside Game."
Next, Paul Martino is not giving up without a fight.
Martino: You know that the whole house of cards
has now collapsed on itself.
There is no new money coming into the system.
And that's when I got the bright idea how to go after these guys.
**
Narrator: In the fall of 2015, Paul Martino and Michael Pierce
should be filming their indie movie, "Inside Game,"
but their $4 million budget has vanished,
and they suspect that their financiers --
Jason Van Eman and Ben McConley --
are running a Ponzi scheme.
Martino: They probably used money from later projects to fund
a few projects that we got the good references for,
and they ran out of money
by the time it was time to do our project.
I just remember that pit-in-my-stomach feeling of,
"This really happened.
I'm the person who got duped and I brought other people with me."
That's a horrible feeling.
Narrator: Most of Paul Martino's career has been spent
in the tech industry in Silicon Valley,
so, he pulls in his IT team to develop a website alert
that pops up any time someone searches the Internet
for key words related to WeatherVane Productions.
The pop-up details his allegations of fraud
and asks anyone with concerns to contact Paul Martino.
Martino: And over the course of six or so months,
almost 30 different people called me on that phone number.
And those calls, they were all over the map.
Some of them were, "These guys stole my money."
Some of them were, "I'm thinking about working with them.
What do you think?"
Boy, this pissed Ben and Jason off.
They knew my phone was gonna ring every time
they were trying to reel in another fish.
Narrator: Martino gathers a list of other producers and investors
who claim they have lost their money to WeatherVane deals.
Martino: We know that we're victims of fraud.
We know that these are criminal actors on the other side
and our objective is really now
just to collect enough information
to try and go after them and I remember telling Ben,
"At some point, somebody's gonna call me from the FBI
and ask for all the names I found."
**
Narrator: In 2016, Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne
begins fielding complaints
about a possible film-financing fraud.
Browne: Several victims told us
that they had been looking for financing.
Many of them to make movies and that they initially approached
or were approached by a company called
WeatherVane Productions,
and its principal, Jason Van Eman.
Narrator: FBI Special Agent Mark Soucy
is brought in to investigate
and is quickly alerted to Paul Martino.
Paul was one of those victims when I spoke to
that I just could not believe
that he would lose all his money to these individuals.
Martino: So I'm on the phone, and Mark is being polite,
and he's kind of like, "You know, Paul,
we think that you might have been a victim of a crime."
I said, "Yeah, I-I know I was the victim of a crime.
By the way, would you like to see the report
I got from the P.I.?"
He's like, "Yes, I would."
"Oh, by the way, I set up a website,
and I found 30 other victims and references.
Would you like to speak with them?"
He's like, "Yeah, yeah,
I-I would like to speak with them."
So, Paul Martino was unique in this investigation.
And a lot of referrals and a lot of victims
came to the FBI through that source.
Narrator: The investigation team learns
that while the largest loss is a staggering $28 million,
the vast majority of victims are much smaller players,
creative individuals scraping together funds
to realize a dream.
Jason Van Eman and Ben McConley had promised to help
make those dreams come true,
but it's all lies.
Browne: They targeted a pretty small insular community,
you know, of creatives,
of people who are in this independent-film world,
who really, you know, need financing
because they don't have big studios backing them.
So, they put a lot of trust in these defendants
and ultimately that -- that trust was betrayed.
Narrator: Investigators also learn
that Ben McConley's so-called private banker, Benjamin Rafael,
is simply a mid-level bank employee
recruited by McConley to participate in the fraud.
Agent Soucy discovers
that Rafael was fired from the bank in 2015,
yet he continues to provide fake,
official-looking bank letters
to Van Eman and McConley to give to their investors
about the security of their accounts.
Soucy: What we found is there was no secure account.
It was Forrest Capital Partners,
Benjamin McConley's business checking account at Wells Fargo.
That's solely what it was.
And a giant portion of investor money was moved
and spent nearly immediately.
Narrator: The FBI calculates
that over the course of seven years,
more than $68 million moves into
and quickly out of McConley's account --
much of it spent as fast as he could get it.
Soucy: Social media was full of Benjamin McConley
and Livia McConley.
Her Instagram accounts, Twitter,
were filled with luxury travel, luxury clothing.
At one point, he was spending tens of thousands of dollars
a month just on flowers for his wife with all victim money.
Narrator: Investigators trace approximately $20 million
of the fraudulent proceeds to a company controlled
by Jason Van Eman,
and he alone decides how much to keep
and how much to send to his various investors.
Soucy: Some of these projects would get desperate.
They had time deadlines they had to meet.
They had actors' schedules they had to keep up with.
At times, Mr. Van Eman would send them
just pieces of the money to keep the project going.
Some projects didn't receive any of the money
that went to Jason.
Narrator: Next, as the investigation continues,
WeatherVane Productions is still operational.
And they have a new stream of income,
and it's not coming from Hollywood
but all the way on the other coast.
These were individuals, writers, producers that were involved
in some of the most well-known Broadway shows
over the past 25 years.
**
Narrator: In 2018, Jason Van Eman and Ben McConley
have been feeling the heat in Hollywood.
Their firm, WeatherVane Productions,
is facing multiple lawsuits and investors are hounding them
for their money.
Desperate for a new stream of income,
the duo finds it in the Big Apple.
Word got out, especially in the independent-film community,
and as a result, they decided not to stop their fraud,
but to keep it rolling and they began targeting producers
in the Broadway and theater-production business.
Narrator: Jason Van Eman also bills himself
as a theater financier
and starts adding new victims to his portfolio.
Soucy: They did a smaller project, Penn & Teller,
that was somewhat successful and then word of mouth took off
that there was another source of funding.
Many projects that they went into business with
never got a penny back.
Browne: We saw victims being impacted in really serious ways
where it wasn't just their production
that was being shut down.
I mean, their reputations, and in some cases, their careers
were destroyed by this fraud.
Ultimately their projects were doomed
because of their association
with Mr. Van Eman and Mr. McConley
and not coming through with the funding they promised.
Myself and the prosecution wanted this to end.
**
Narrator: In the summer of 2019, Jason Van Eman, Ben McConley,
and Benjamin Rafael are all indicted
on multiple counts of fraud
in their alleged $68 million finance scheme.
A month later, FBI special agent Mark Soucy
locates Ben McConley at a posh Miami resort.
Soucy: From the moment I walked through his hotel door
and put handcuffs on him, he looked like he was relieved.
It almost looked like this burden
was lifted off his shoulders.
Narrator: On the same day, the FBI arrests Jason Van Eman
at his home in Bartlesville, Oklahoma.
Benjamin Rafael is arrested at his home in Miami.
Within a week, Ben McConley agrees
to fully cooperate with the government.
He pleads guilty and on September 14, 2021,
is sentenced to 13 years in federal prison.
Rafael is equally cooperative
and ultimately is sentenced to 42 months.
Jason Van Eman, however, has other ideas.
**
At the U.S. Federal Building in Fort Lauderdale,
the trial of 44-year-old Jason Van Eman begins.
Assistant U.S. attorney Christopher Browne
relies heavily on victims to make his case.
We called 15 different victims to the stand
during this six-week-long trial
because we knew the victims, they were telling the truth.
Narrator: Including Michael Pierce,
who takes the stand and tells the jury
about sharing prophetic words with Van Eman two years prior.
Pierce: I said, "Jason, I'm sad to say this to you,
but the next time you hear me talk,
it will be in a federal trial,
and you will be going to jail, I promise you."
And he said, "'F' you," and then he hung up.
That's the last time I spoke to him.
And, of course, I saw him in trial two years later.
Narrator: Paul Martino also takes the stand,
coming face-to-face with Van Eman for the first time.
Martino: He was sitting where he deserved to be sitting --
defending himself in a court for a crime he committed.
That's where he deserved to be.
And I was very satisfied
when I finally got to see him sitting there.
Browne: We also wanted the jury to see that the bank accounts,
the brokerage accounts,
all of these financial institutions
where they believed their money was being held safe and sound,
those accounts were all empty.
Ben McConley knew it, and Jason Van Eman knew it.
Narrator: Next, the former leading man opts
to take on the role of a lifetime --
key witness at his own fraud trial.
Browne: He tried to convince the jury
that he just wanted to make movies
and that anything illegal or fraudulent that happened
was the fault of Ben McConley and Ben Rafael.
**
Narrator: In April 2022,
during the fraud trial of Jason Van Eman,
the U.S. Attorney's office calls their star witness,
Benjamin Rafael.
The former Wells Fargo bank employee
who furthered the scheme by deceiving victims
about the security of their funds.
Rafael testifies that Van Eman
not only knew about false bank documents,
he helped to create them.
Browne: In terms of who controlled
what the victims heard, what the victims saw,
who controlled the flow of communication
with these movie people,
the producers and the victims in this case,
that was all Jason Van Eman.
He was the face of this fraud scheme.
Narrator: Van Eman's attorney says Rafael isn't credible
and that he only blamed Jason Van Eman
to work out a lesser sentence.
Karadbil: Jason Van Eman absolutely did not know
that Ben Rafael was a fraud.
And that he was purposefully
writing fraudulent correspondence.
He looked at Ben Rafael like any other banker
that he came in contact with through Ben McConley.
Narrator: A few weeks into the trial,
it's Van Eman's turn to take the stand.
He denies any wrongdoing
and claims he is totally innocent of all charges.
Karadbil: He wanted to tell the jury his belief
and -- and perception as to what was occurring.
The fact that Ben McConley was consistently telling him
all the same lies that he eventually had to pass on
to the victim investors.
Browne: The idea that Jason Van Eman,
after being in business with Ben McConley
for almost eight years,
and being sued dozens of times by all these victim investors,
the idea that he had no idea was a little bit of a stretch.
Narrator: The jury does not believe Jason Van Eman.
They find him guilty on all counts.
Two months later, on July 21, 2022,
he is sentenced to almost 22 years in federal prison.
Browne: Jason Van Eman, at some point,
instead of producing his own movies,
writing his own scripts and making it that way,
he decided to be a fake film financier,
and I say he was fake because he didn't have money
to produce other people's movies.
He had to steal it.
Narrator: Two of his victims, Paul Martino and Michael Pierce,
are able to get some money back.
Not from Van Eman,
but from Wells Fargo Bank, suing for negligence.
They dragged us along for eight months like they do just,
trying to get us to give up, but we didn't.
And to their credit, we settled.
Narrator: Wells Fargo declined
"American Greed's" request for comment.
The settlement terms are confidential,
but Martino and Pierce are both satisfied
that they recouped much of their loss,
and this has allowed them
to dust off the "Inside Game" screenplay
and start figuring out how to get it made.
We had been through so much with this movie
that we actually felt we just had an obligation
to each other to make this movie.
Narrator: Michael Pierce gets his friend,
Randall Batinkoff, to direct,
and the director brings in Scott Wolf to play the lead.
Wolf: I loved the script.
I loved the idea of this character.
I was really excited to tell the story with them.
Let's be clear about who...everything up.
Only one of us is a drug addict.
Narrator: In the summer of 2018,
production of "Inside Game" is finally underway.
Martino and Pierce serve as producers,
but they also appear in cameos in the film.
I had the pleasure of playing one of my other cousins,
Tommy's brother.
Hey, Tommy. How ya doin'?
What you up to? About 4'2"?
Wolf: All he had to really do was walk up and insult me
and so, he did great.
He did great.
Narrator: Michael Pierce has no problem
bringing pent-up frustration from real life
to his fictional character in the opening scene of the movie.
This ain't what it looks like.
Hey...that's my ...girlfriend..
Not if you're playin' Blackjack all night!
Pierce: I was playing an angry, disgruntled boyfriend.
It was like, "Okay, I just have to channel a little anger
from all the process into this role."
So, I barged in and, like, confronted him
and then Scott Wolf actually beats me up and leaves.
It was a funny role.
Narrator: Eight years after starting the process,
"Inside Game" -- the movie that Jason Van Eman
and Ben McConley almost killed --
premieres in New York City.
Martino: That was really one of the true highlights of my life.
We actually got here.
We got a film made. I'm proud of the movie.
Everybody wanted them to win, you know,
because they knew everything that they had to go through
just to get to the point where we can make this film.
-- Captions by VITAC --
**